Pretty in Plaid Valentine Coffee Card

Clear Scraps friends, can you believe it is almost February?  I love giving cards this time of year, especially to my gal-pals.  And, it's certainly no secret that my friends and I love to go get a coffee while we catch up with each other.  Well - today, I have a card that would be perfect to sneak in a coffee gift card to your special "pal-entine" this upcoming Valentine's Day.

I really have 'fallen in love' with the Clear Scraps chipboard pieces and shaker kits.  So, when I find a kit I love, I often reserve a piece aside for another project - and one of my recent favorites is the Mini Shaker Coffee Mug.  I have taken just one layer out of this kit so I could make something from it, and this chipboard piece happens to have a heart on it for a card!

To start, I've painted a coat of black acrylic paint on this chipboard piece and let dry.  Next, I took this piece and traced the outline of it on 2 different patterns of paper, then glued them on - one on the front (lid) and one on the back (cup).

I've cut a 5.5" by 5.5" card from white card stock, and decided to add some fun on the front with the 6" Plaid Masking Stencil.  Stencils are the best when you don't have a patterned paper that you really like.  To make the background, I've taped the stencil on top of my card front and then began to add color with a sponge dauber and ink.  This one is done in a light pink Distress ink.

Next, I remove the stencil and then began to add a thin black line with a gel pen, following the edge of the largest white spaces on the plaid pattern.  I go over it again with a 2nd line, for dimension.

My backdrop for the coffee cup is a red heart, cut in card stock from a die cut shape.  On this shape, I've added some white detailing with a gel pen.  Each piece I've also dusted the edges in a black ink with a sponge dauber, and that includes the coffee mug lid as well.

I had a fun coffee stamp saying that I incorporated at the top of the card, stamping this on white card stock, then trimming the end to look like a flag.  I also added some tiny heart stamps at the top, to look like a steamy mug of coffee!  Then, my final addition is a cute felt heart sticker from my personal stash of embellishments.

I really like this coffee card "a latte."  Ha!  But, seriously - I can't wait to give this to one of my friends for Valentine's Day.  How will you incorporate the Clear Scraps Mini Shakers into your Valentine projects this year?  I hope you think about giving this one a try - happy crafting!

Maureen

Additional supplies:  gel pens, Distress ink (Kitsch Flamingo), sentiment stamps (Stamplorations), heart sticker (Michaels), patterned paper (assorted), card stock in red and white